Motor Having Non-Circular Stator

ABSTRACT

An apparatus includes a motor having a rotor; and a stator, where the rotor is located at least partially in a rotor receiving area of the stator, where the stator includes at least one coil winding and teeth, where the at least one coil winding is located on at least some of the teeth, where the teeth include a first set of the teeth and a second set of the teeth, where the teeth of the first set of teeth are longer in a radial direction from the rotor receiving area than the teeth of the second set of teeth.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a divisional patent application of copendingapplication Ser. No. 15/011,802 filed Feb. 1, 2016, which claimspriority under 35 USC 119(e) to U.S. provisional patent application No.62/110,752 filed Feb. 2, 2015 which are hereby incorporated by referencein their entireties.

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

This invention was made with Government support under SBIR Phase IIGrant Number 1230458 awarded by the National Science Foundation. TheGovernment has certain rights in this invention.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The exemplary and non-limiting embodiments relate generally to electricmotors and, more particularly, to a motor having a non-circular stator.

Brief Description of Prior Developments

Electric motors are generally used to provide translational orrotational motion to the various moving elements of automated mechanicaldevices. The electric motors used typically comprise rotating elements(rotors) assembled with stationary elements (stators). Magnets arelocated between the rotating and stationary elements or directly on therotating element. Coils are wound around soft iron cores on thestationary elements and are located proximate the magnets.

In operating an electric motor, an electric current is passed throughthe coils, and a magnetic field is generated, which acts upon themagnets. When the magnetic field acts upon the magnets, one side of therotating element is pushed and an opposing side of the rotating elementis pulled, which thereby causes the rotating element to rotate relativeto the stationary element. Efficiency of the rotation is based at leastin part on the shape of the magnetic components used and thecharacteristics of the materials used in the fabrication of the electricmotor.

SUMMARY

The following summary is merely intended to be exemplary. The summary isnot intended to limit the scope of the claims.

In accordance with one aspect, an apparatus comprises a motor comprisinga rotor and a stator. The rotor is located at least partially in a rotorreceiving area of the stator. The stator comprises at least one coilwinding and teeth. The at least one coil winding is located on at leastsome of the teeth, where the teeth comprise a first set of the teeth anda second set of the teeth. The teeth of the first set of teeth arelonger in a radial direction from the rotor receiving area than theteeth of the second set of teeth.

In accordance with another exemplary aspect, a method may compriseforming a stator member having teeth. The stator may comprise a rotorreceiving area, where the teeth may comprise a first set of the teethand a second set of the teeth. The teeth of the first set of teeth maybe longer in a radial direction from the rotor receiving area than theteeth of the second set of teeth. The method may further compriselocating at least one coil winding on at least some of the teeth.

In accordance with another exemplary aspect, an apparatus may comprise amotor comprising a rotor and stator. The rotor may be located at leastpartially in a rotor receiving area of the stator. The stator maycomprise a stator member having teeth and at least one componentreceiving area spaced from the rotor receiving area. The teeth maycomprise a first set of the teeth and a second set of the teeth, wherethe teeth of the first set of teeth may be longer in a radial directionfrom the rotor receiving area than the teeth of the second set of teeth,and where the second set of teeth are located closer to the least onecomponent receiving area than the first set of teeth. At least one coilwinding may be on the stator member. At least one component may bemovably located in the at least one component receiving area.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing aspects and other features are explained in the followingdescription, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,wherein:

FIG. 1A is an isometric representation of one exemplary embodiment of amotor assembly;

FIG. 1B is an isometric representation of a stator of the motor assemblyof FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1C is an isometric representation a stator core of the motorassembly of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1D is a section representation of a stator of the motor assembly ofFIG. 1A;

FIG. 2A is an isometric representation of one exemplary embodiment of amotor assembly;

FIG. 2B is an isometric representation of a stator of the motor assemblyof FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2C is an isometric representation of a stator core of the motorassembly of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2D is a section representation of a stator and rotor of the motorassembly of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3A is an isometric representation of one exemplary embodiment of amotor assembly;

FIG. 3B is an isometric representation of stator of the motor assemblyof FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3C is an isometric representation of a stator core of the motorassembly of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3D is a section representation of a stator and rotor of the motorassembly of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4 is an top representation of one exemplary embodiment of a motorassembly;

FIG. 5 is an top representation of one exemplary embodiment of a motorassembly;

FIG. 6 is an top representation of one exemplary embodiment of a motorassembly;

FIG. 7 is an top representation of one exemplary embodiment of a motorassembly;

FIG. 8A is an isometric section representation of one exemplaryembodiment of a motor assembly;

FIG. 8B is an isometric section representation of a stator core of themotor assembly of FIG. 8A;

FIG. 8C is an isometric section representation of a rotor portion of themotor assembly of FIG. 8A;

FIG. 9A is an isometric section representation of one exemplaryembodiment of a motor assembly;

FIG. 9B is an isometric representation of a stator core of the motorassembly of FIG. 9A;

FIG. 9C is a section representation of the motor assembly of FIG. 9A;

FIG. 9D is an isometric section representation of a stator core of themotor assembly of FIG. 9A;

FIG. 9E is a partial isometric section representation of a stator coreof the motor assembly of FIG. 9A;

FIG. 10 is an isometric representation of a robot drive;

FIG. 11 is an isometric representation of a robot drive;

FIG. 12 is a bottom representation of a robot drive;

FIG. 13 is a side representation robot drive;

FIG. 14 is an isometric representation of a robot drive;

FIG. 15 is a side representation of a robot drive;

FIG. 16 is an exploded isometric representation of a robot drive;

FIG. 17 is an exploded isometric representation of a robot drive; and

FIG. 18 is an exploded isometric representation of a robot drive.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1A, there is shown an isometric representation motorassembly 10 incorporating features of an example embodiment. Althoughthe features will be described with reference to the example embodimentsshown in the drawings, it should be understood that features can beembodied in many alternate forms of embodiments. In addition, anysuitable size, shape or type of elements or materials could be used.

Referring also to FIG. 1B, there is shown an isometric representation ofstator 12 of motor assembly 10 of FIG. 1A. Referring also to FIG. 1C,there is shown an isometric representation of stator core 14 of motorassembly 10 of FIG. 1A. Referring also to FIG. 1D, there is shown asection representation of stator 12 of motor assembly 10 of FIG. 1A.Although the features will be described with reference to the exampleembodiments shown in the drawings, it should be understood that featurescan be embodied in many alternate forms of embodiments. In addition, anysuitable size, shape, or type of elements or materials could be used.For example, as shown, the motor 10 is of a radial flux design. Inalternate embodiments, the motor may be of an axial flux design or ahybrid 3-dimensional flux design. The features of the embodimentsdisclosed herein may similarly be applied to any motor, system, orcomponent incorporating a core comprising a soft magnetic material.

Motor 10 and the subcomponents within motor 10 may have features asdisclosed in the following references, all of which are herebyincorporated by reference herein in their entireties: U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/501,603, entitled “Structures Utilizing aStructured Magnetic Material and Methods for Making” filed Sep. 30,2014; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/501,668, entitled “StructuresUtilizing a Structured Magnetic Material and Methods for Making” filedSep. 30, 2014; U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014/0009025 A1, entitled“Hybrid Field Electric Motor” published Jan. 9, 2014; U.S. PatentPublication No. 2013/0000861 A1, entitled “System and Method for MakingStructured Magnetic Material from Insulated Particles” published Jan. 3,2013; U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013/0004359 A1, entitled “System andMethod for Making a Structured Material” published Jan. 3, 2013; U.S.Patent Publication No. 2013/0002085 A1, entitled “Structured MagneticMaterial” published Jan. 3, 2013; U.S. Patent Publication No.2014/0103752 A1, entitled “Hybrid Motor” published Apr. 17, 2014; U.S.Patent Publication No. 2013/0292081 A1, entitled “System and Method forMaking a Structured Magnetic Material with Integrated ParticleInsulation” published Nov. 7, 2013; U.S. Patent Publication No.2013/0000860 A1, entitled “System and Method for Making a StructuredMagnetic Material via Layered Particle Deposition” published Jan. 3,2013; and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013/0000447 A1, entitled “Systemand Method for Making a Structured Magnetic Material with IntegratedParticle Insulation” published Jan. 3, 2013.

In FIG. 1A, motor 10 is shown with a substantially oval shaped stator 12having stator core 14 and windings 16. In the embodiment shown in FIGS.1A-1D, a stator 12 is shown with core 14 that has short 18 and long 20stator teeth. In alternate aspects, teeth 18, 20 may be the same lengthor more different lengths. The long teeth 20 may have more winding turnsthan the short teeth, for example, for more torque output for a givencurrent. Alternately, the long teeth 20 may have the same number ofturns as the short teeth, but use thicker wire to reduce overall phaseresistance. Alternately, a thicker wire may be used on all of the teeth(long and short) and the overall number of winding turns may bemaintained the same as a conventional circular motor or higher. Forexample, in a 3-phase motor, each phase winding may occupy equal numbersof short and long teeth respectively. Alternately, the number of statorteeth is not restricted to 12. In the embodiment shown, rotor 22 isshown cylindrical and having rotor core 24 and rotor magnets 26.Alternately, the rotor may have any suitable shape. FIG. 1A shows arotor 22 stator 12 combination that makes up motor 10 where motor 10 isshown as a frameless motor. In alternate aspects, a frame may houserotor 22 and stator 12 with suitable bearings for rotor 22 and an outputmember coupled to rotor 22. In the embodiment shown, two lengths ofstator teeth are shown. In alternate aspects more or less differentlength teeth may be provided with more or less different windingscorresponding to the different teeth. In the embodiment, an apparatus isshown as motor 10 having rotor and stator 12 where rotor 22 is locatedat least partially in rotor receiving area 30 of the stator 12. Stator12 comprises at least one coil winding 16 and teeth 18, 20. The at leastone coil winding 16 is located on at least some of the teeth 18, 20,where the teeth comprise a first set of the teeth 20 and a second set ofthe teeth 18. The teeth of the first set of teeth 20 are longer in aradial direction from the rotor receiving area 30 than the teeth of thesecond set of teeth 18. Here, the stator may comprise a stator memberforming the teeth. Base 32 of each of the teeth may be located at aportion of the stator member which forms an outer perimeter wall 34 ofthe stator member. The outer perimeter wall 34 may have a shape as oneof a substantial oval shape, a substantial triangle shape, a substantialsquare shape, a substantial rectangle shape or a substantial polygonshape. In alternate aspects, any suitable shape may be provided. Inalternate aspects, the at least one coil winding 16 may be located onthe first and second sets of teeth. The at least one coil winding 16 maycomprise more winding turns on the first set of teeth than the secondset of teeth and/or where the at least one coil winding 16 may comprisethicker wire on the first set of teeth 20 than the second set of teeth18.

Referring now to FIG. 2A, there is shown an isometric representation ofmotor assembly 60 with a triangular shaped stator 62. Referring also toFIG. 2B, there is shown an isometric representation of stator 62 ofmotor assembly 60 of FIG. 2A. Referring also to FIG. 2C, there is shownan isometric representation of stator core 64 of motor assembly 60 ofFIG. 2A. Referring also to FIG. 2D, there is shown a sectionrepresentation of stator 62 of motor assembly 60 of FIG. 2A. In FIG. 2A,motor 60 is shown where stator 62 is triangular in shape having statorcore 64 and windings 66. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2A-2D, astator 62 is shown with core 64 that has short 68 and long 70 statorteeth. In alternate aspects, teeth 68, 70 may be the same length or moredifferent lengths. The long teeth 70 may have more winding turns thanthe short teeth, for example, for more torque output for a givencurrent. Alternately, the long teeth 70 may have the same number ofturns as the short teeth, but use thicker wire to reduce overall phaseresistance. Alternately, a thicker wire may be used on all of the teeth(long and short) and the overall number of winding turns may bemaintained the same as a conventional circular motor or higher. Forexample, in a 3-phase motor, each phase winding may occupy equal numbersof short and long teeth respectively. Alternately, the number of statorteeth is not restricted to 12. In the embodiment shown, rotor 72 isshown cylindrical and having rotor core 74 and rotor magnets 76.Alternately, the rotor may have any suitable shape. FIG. 2A shows arotor 72 stator 62 combination that makes up motor 60 where motor 60 isshown as a frameless motor. In alternate aspects, a frame may houserotor 72 and stator 62 with suitable bearings for rotor 72 and an outputmember coupled to rotor 72. In the embodiment shown, multiple lengths ofstator teeth are shown. In alternate aspects more or less differentlength teeth may be provided with more or less different windingscorresponding to the different teeth. In the embodiment, an apparatus isshown as motor 60 having rotor 72 and stator 62 where rotor 72 islocated at least partially in rotor receiving area 80 of the stator 62.Stator 62 comprises at least one coil winding 66 and teeth 68, 70. Theat least one coil winding 66 is located on at least some of the teeth68, 70, where the teeth comprise a first set of the teeth 70 and asecond set of the teeth 68. The teeth of the first set of teeth 70 arelonger in a radial direction from the rotor receiving area 80 than theteeth of the second set of teeth 68. Here, the stator may comprise astator member forming the teeth. Base 82 of each of the teeth may belocated at a portion of the stator member which forms an outer perimeterwall 84 of the stator member. The outer perimeter wall 84 may have ashape as one of a substantial oval shape, a substantial triangle shape,a substantial square shape, a substantial rectangle shape or asubstantial polygon shape. In alternate aspects, any suitable shape maybe provided. In alternate aspects, the at least one coil winding 66 maybe located on the first 70 and second 68 sets of teeth. The at least onecoil winding 66 may comprise more winding turns on the first set ofteeth than the second set of teeth and/or where the at least one coilwinding 66 may comprise thicker wire on the first set of teeth than thesecond set of teeth.

In FIG. 3A, motor 110 is shown with a substantially square shaped stator112 having stator core 114 and windings 116. In the embodiment shown inFIGS. 3A-3D, a stator 112 is shown with core 114 that has short 118 andlong 120 stator teeth. In alternate aspects, teeth 118, 120 may be thesame length or more different lengths. The long teeth 120 may have morewinding turns than the short teeth 118, for example, for more torqueoutput for a given current. Alternately, the long teeth 120 may have thesame number of turns as the short teeth 118, but use thicker wire toreduce overall phase resistance. Alternately, a thicker wire may be usedon all of the teeth (long and short) and the overall number of windingturns may be maintained the same as a conventional circular motor orhigher. For example, in a 3-phase motor, each phase winding may occupyequal numbers of short and long teeth respectively. Alternately, thenumber of stator teeth is not restricted to 12. In the embodiment shown,rotor 122 is shown cylindrical and having rotor core 124 and rotormagnets 126. Alternately, the rotor may have any suitable shape. FIG. 3Ashows a rotor 122 stator 112 combination that makes up motor 110 wheremotor 110 is shown as a frameless motor. In alternate aspects, a framemay house rotor 122 and stator 112 with suitable bearings for rotor 122and an output member coupled to rotor 122. In the embodiment shown, twolengths of stator teeth are shown. In alternate aspects more or lessdifferent length teeth may be provided with more or less differentwindings corresponding to the different teeth. In the embodiment, anapparatus is shown as motor 110 having rotor 122 and stator 112 whererotor 122 is located at least partially in rotor receiving area 130 ofthe stator 112. Stator 112 comprises at least one coil winding 116 andteeth 118, 120. The at least one coil winding 116 is located on at leastsome of the teeth 118, 120, where the teeth comprise a first set of theteeth 120 and a second set of the teeth 118. The teeth of the first setof teeth 120 are longer in a radial direction from the rotor receivingarea 130 than the teeth of the second set of teeth 118. Here, the statormay comprise a stator member forming the teeth. Base 132 of each of theteeth may be located at a portion of the stator member which forms anouter perimeter wall 134 of the stator member. The outer perimeter wall134 may have a shape as one of a substantial oval shape, a substantialtriangle shape, a substantial square shape, a substantial rectangleshape or a substantial polygon shape. In alternate aspects, any suitableshape may be provided. In alternate aspects, the at least one coilwinding 116 may be located on the first 118 and second 120 sets ofteeth. The at least one coil winding 116 may comprise more winding turnson the first set of teeth 118 than the second set of teeth 120 and/orwhere the at least one coil winding 116 may comprise thicker wire on thefirst set of teeth 118 than the second set of teeth 120.

Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown a top representation of oneexemplary embodiment of motor assembly 160 having a stator 162 withwindings 164 on a subset of the poles 166, 168. Here, in FIG. 4, thereis shown an oval stator 162 and rotor 170. Here, of the 12 stator teeth,windings are present in only 6 of the teeth. Alternately, more or lessteeth and/or windings may be provided. Here, the embodiment allows for alarger rotor and consequently larger ball screw, for example, in a Zmotor. Alternately, similar embodiments are possible with shapes orotherwise with respect to the Figures and description here in. Here, thepresence of teeth 168 with no coils may enable minimization of coggingtorque by way of example. In the apparatus shown, at least one coilwinding 164 may be located on a first set of teeth 166 and not locatedon a second set of teeth 168. In alternate aspects, more or less teethwith more or less windings may be provided. For example, a stator may beprovided with no poles or windings along certain directions as shown inFIG. 5.

Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown a top representation of oneexemplary embodiment of motor assembly 210. In FIG. 5, there is shown asimilar stator to that shown with respect to FIG. 4 but with no teeth incertain stator sections 212, 214. The embodiment may allow for a largerrotor and packaging of a larger ball screw by way of example. Further,the embodiment may be applicable to other shapes, for example, withrespect to the figures and description here in. In the apparatus 210 ofFIG. 5, the teeth 216 may extend radially inward towards the rotorreceiving area 218 where the teeth 216 may not be located on twoopposite sides 212, 214 of the rotor receiving area 218 along arcs, forexample, of about 40-100 degrees or other suitable angles or ranges ofangles.

Referring now to FIG. 6, there is shown a top representation of oneexemplary embodiment of motor assembly 260. Motor 260 has stator 262with a cutout 264 for alternate packaging of other components 266, forexample, a Z motor ball screw or otherwise. Cutout 268 may be providedfurther for symmetry. Alternately, more or less cutouts may be provided.In FIG. 6, a variation of FIG. 4 may be shown with opposite sides of thestator recessed 264, 266 to allow packaging of other assemblycomponents—such as ball screw of a Z motor in a robot assembly. Thedisclosed may further be applied to the figures above alternately. Inthe apparatus, the stator 262 may comprise a stator member 270 formingteeth 272, where the stator member may comprise at least one componentreceiving area 264 spaced from the rotor receiving area 274. The atleast one component receiving area 264 may be sized and shaped to have acomponent 266 movably located therein. Here, the at least one componentreceiving area 264 may have a center axis 280 which is parallel to acenter axis 282 of the rotor receiving area 274. The at least onecomponent receiving area 264 may have an open side 284 at a lateral sideperimeter wall 286 of the stator member 262. Further, the at least onecomponent receiving area 264 may be substantially closed, for example,as seen in FIG. 7, except at top and bottom sides of the stator member.Referring also to FIG. 7, there is shown a top representation of analternate exemplary embodiment of motor assembly 260′. Here, stator 262′is shown with a hole 264′ to facilitate packaging, for example, to allowa Z motor ball screw 280. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, a statorhousing 262′ has a hole 264′ to allow for a ball screw 280 from anothermotor, such as a Z motor, to pass through. The disclosed may further beapplied to the figures above alternately. Here, at least one component280 may be movably located in the at least one component receiving area264 where the at least one component 280 may be a rod having a screwthread located in the at least one component receiving area 264. The rodmay be configured to rotate in the at least one component receivingarea. The at least one component receiving area may be configured forthe stator to longitudinally move up and down along the rod. As shownwith respect to FIGS. 10-18, the apparatus may further comprise a motorhousing having the stator therein. The stator housing may be connectedto the screw thread of the rod such that rotation of the rod causes themotor housing to longitudinally move along the rod.

Referring now to FIG. 8A, there is shown an isometric sectionrepresentation of one exemplary embodiment of motor assembly 310 havingstator 312 and rotor 314 where rotor 314 has first portion 318 andsecond portion 320. Here, a non-circular stator with non-cylindrical airgap is shown by way of example. Referring also to FIG. 8B, there isshown an isometric section representation of stator core 316 of themotor assembly of FIG. 8A. Referring also to FIG. 8C, there is shown anisometric section representation of a rotor portion 320 of the motorassembly of FIG. 8A. FIGS. 8A-8C show a rotor stator set with anon-cylindrical air gap 322, for example, to increase overall flux flowthrough the coils 324. Here, the stator 312 has convex stator teeth 326and the rotor 314 has concave rotor magnets 330 and yoke 332. Further,the rotor may be made of two halves 318, 320 to facilitate assembly. Thedisclosed may further be applied to the figures above alternately. Here,a gap 322 may be provided between the stator 312 and the rotor 314 atthe rotor receiving area, where the gap 322 has a shape which is notuniformly cylindrical. Here, the rotor 314 may comprise a first top sidemember 320 and a second bottom side member 318 which have substantialcone shapes orientated in opposite directions. In alternate aspects,other shapes may be used.

Referring now to FIGS. 9A-9E, there is shown an exemplary non-circularstator with features to facilitate 3-dimensional flux flow. Referringnow to FIG. 9A, there is shown an isometric section representation ofone exemplary embodiment of motor assembly 360 having stator 362 androtor 364. Referring also to FIG. 9B, there is shown an isometricrepresentation of stator core 366 of the motor assembly 360 of FIG. 9A.Referring also to FIG. 9C, there is shown a section representation ofthe motor assembly 360 of FIG. 9A. Referring also to FIG. 9D, there isshown an isometric section representation of stator core 366 of themotor assembly of FIG. 9A. Referring also to FIG. 9E, there is shown apartial isometric section representation of stator core 366 of the motorassembly of FIG. 9A. In FIGS. 9A-9E, there are shown stator teeth 368and coils 370 tapered in two dimensions 372, 374. This provides spacefor more winding turns. Here, the stator outer wall 376 may beselectively extended in the axial direction to provide more area forflux to flow through. Further, the stator shoe 380, at the innerdiameter, may also be extended axially 382, 384 to allow for more areafor flux to flow through. Here, the geometry allows the use of longermagnets 386 to increase flux flow. The features may be used together orin any combination. The disclosed may further be applied to the figuresabove alternately. For example, in the apparatus, at least some of theteeth may taper in two orthogonal directions as shown or otherwise.Here, The stator may comprise a stator member 366 forming the teeth 368,an outer perimeter wall 376 at outer ends of the teeth and respectiveshoes 380 at inner ends of the teeth. Top 390 and bottom 392 sides ofthe teeth may be recessed relative to top 394, 396 and bottom 398, 400sides of the outer perimeter and the shoes respectively. In theapparatus, the stator member may be a one-piece member or alternately,multi piece members.

In alternate aspects, the non-circular stator may be used for slot-lessmotors as well. For example, this could be in the form of variablenumber of winding turns along the stator circumference and varying wallthickness. For the disclosed, the stator material may be anisotropic,such as laminated steel or isotropic such as soft magnetic composites.Further, the stator may double up as the motor housing. For example, thestator may have mounting features machined on it and can mount directlyto the machinery or driven components. In alternate aspects, anysuitable shape, triangular, oval, square or otherwise may be providedwith any suitable tooth/magnet combination, for example, 6-toothconfiguration, 12-tooth configuration, 24-tooth configuration orotherwise. Similarly, any suitable noncircular stator (any of the aboveor any suitable cross-sections) with depopulated coils may be provided.Similarly, any suitable noncircular stator with concave shape, e.g., tofit ball-screw or noncircular stator with a through-hole, e.g., to fitball-screw may be provided. Similarly, any suitable noncircular motorwith laminated stator or noncircular motor with composite stator may beprovided. Similarly, any suitable noncircular motor with 3D fluxfeatures, e.g., recessed coils, or noncircular motor with hybrid-fieldfeatures, for example, conical topology or slot-less noncircular motormay be provided. Similarly any suitable noncircular stator integratedwith motor housing may be provided. As shown below, the use of an ovalor noncircular motor in a robot may be provided, for example, in aZ-axis embodiment, theta-axis embodiment or otherwise.

Referring now to FIGS. 10-11, there are shown isometric representationsof robot drive 510. Referring also to FIG. 12, there is shown a bottomrepresentation of robot drive 510. Referring also to FIG. 13, there isshown a side representation of robot drive 510. Referring also to FIG.14, there is shown an isometric representation of robot drive 510.Referring also to FIG. 15, there is shown a side representation of robotdrive 510. Referring also to FIGS. 16-18, there are shown explodedisometric representations of robot drive 510. Robot 510 may havefeatures as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,716,909 having an issue date ofMay 6, 2015 and entitled “Robot with Heat Dissipating Stator” which isincorporated by reference here in its entirety. Robot 510 has housing512 with a Z motor assembly and housing 514 coupled at a lower portionof housing 512. Z motor assembly and housing 514 may incorporatefeatures of the non-circular stator and motor assemblies disclosed herein. T motor assembly and housing 516 is vertically moveable withinhousing 512 and may be coupled to bellows 518 and further coupled tohousing 512 via slides 520 which constrain T motor assembly and housing516 to move in a vertical direction. Screw 522 is coupled to and rotatedby Z motor assembly and housing 514 and has a nut coupled to T motorassembly and housing 516 which is driven and vertically moveable withinhousing 512 by virtue of rotation of screw 522 rotated by a rotor of Zmotor assembly and housing 514. T motor assembly and housing 516 mayincorporate rotor and stator sets as any of the disclosed embodiment,for example, T motor assembly and housing 516 may incorporate one ormore stacked rotor and stator sets as shown in FIGS. 6, 7 or otherwisewhere leadscrew 522 may be packaged closer to the center of rotation ofT motor assembly and housing 516 as compared to an arrangement with acircular stator. Referring to FIG. 13, the apparatus may furthercomprise one or more drive shaft(s) 530 extending from one or morerotor(s) of T motor assembly and housing 516 and a robot arm 532connected to the drive shaft. Here, mounting flange 524 may be coupledto housing 512 and bellows 518 separating atmosphere 526 from vacuum 528where output shaft(s) 530 and arm 532 are in the vacuum environment.Here, FIGS. 10-18 show a robot drive 510 to illustrate the embodiment ofthe non-circular motors. Here, non-circular motors may be used in anysuitable axis to allow for the efficient packaging of additional orcomplimentary components. For example, the robot may use thenon-circular or “football” shaped Z-axis motor and a round orrectangular T-axis motor with a hole though it or a semi-circular cutthrough it to create a smaller distance from the center of the T-axismotor to the ball-screw. Here, one or more non-circular motors may beprovided in a robot to optimize packaging such that the motors can bepackaged to utilize space efficiently, for example, ball screw goingthrough the T-motor, reduced distance of the ball-screw axis to theframe due to the shape of the Z-motor or otherwise.

In accordance with one exemplary aspect, an apparatus comprises a motorcomprising a rotor and a stator. The rotor is located at least partiallyin a rotor receiving area of the stator. The stator comprises at leastone coil winding and teeth. The at least one coil winding is located onat least some of the teeth, where the teeth comprise a first set of theteeth and a second set of the teeth. The teeth of the first set of teethare longer in a radial direction from the rotor receiving area than theteeth of the second set of teeth.

In the apparatus, the stator may comprise a stator member forming theteeth. A base of each of the teeth may be located at a portion of thestator member which forms an outer perimeter wall of the stator member.The outer perimeter wall has a shape as one of a substantial oval shape,a substantial triangle shape, a substantial square shape, a substantialrectangle shape or a substantial polygon shape.

In the apparatus, the stator may comprise a stator member forming theteeth, where the stator member may comprise at least one componentreceiving area spaced from the rotor receiving area. The at least onecomponent receiving area may be sized and shaped to have a componentmovably located therein.

In the apparatus, the at least one component receiving area may have acenter axis which is parallel to a center axis of the rotor receivingarea.

In the apparatus, the at least one component receiving area may have anopen side at a lateral side perimeter wall of the stator member.

In the apparatus, the at least one component receiving area may besubstantially closed except at top and bottom sides of the statormember.

In the apparatus, the teeth may extend radially inward towards the rotorreceiving area. The teeth may not be located on two opposite sides ofthe rotor receiving area along arcs of about 40-100 degrees.

In the apparatus, at least one coil winding may be located on the firstset of teeth and not located on the second set of teeth.

In the apparatus, the at least one coil winding may be located on thefirst and second sets of teeth. The at least one coil winding maycomprise more winding turns on the first set of teeth than the secondset of teeth and/or where the at least one coil winding may comprisethicker wire on the first set of teeth than the second set of teeth.

In the apparatus, a gap may be provided between the stator and the rotorat the rotor receiving area, where the gap has a shape which is notuniformly cylindrical.

In the apparatus, the rotor may comprise a first top side member and asecond bottom side member which have substantial cone shapes orientatedin opposite directions.

In the apparatus, at least some of the teeth may taper in two orthogonaldirections.

In the apparatus, the stator may comprise a stator member forming theteeth, an outer perimeter wall at outer ends of the teeth and respectiveshoes at inner ends of the teeth. Top and bottom sides of the teeth maybe recessed relative to top and bottom sides of the outer perimeter andthe shoes.

In the apparatus, the stator member may be a one-piece member.

The apparatus may further comprise a drive shaft extending from therotor and a robot arm connected to the drive shaft.

In accordance with another exemplary aspect, a method may compriseforming a stator member having teeth. The stator may comprise a rotorreceiving area, where the teeth may comprise a first set of the teethand a second set of the teeth. The teeth of the first set of teeth maybe longer in a radial direction from the rotor receiving area than theteeth of the second set of teeth. The method may further compriselocating at least one coil winding on at least some of the teeth.

In accordance with another exemplary aspect, an apparatus may comprise amotor comprising a rotor and a stator. The rotor may be located at leastpartially in a rotor receiving area of the stator. The stator maycomprise a stator member having teeth and at least one componentreceiving area spaced from the rotor receiving area. The teeth maycomprise a first set of the teeth and a second set of the teeth, wherethe teeth of the first set of teeth may be longer in a radial directionfrom the rotor receiving area than the teeth of the second set of teeth,and where the second set of teeth are located closer to the least onecomponent receiving area than the first set of teeth. At least one coilwinding may be on the stator member. At least one component may bemovably located in the at least one component receiving area.

The apparatus may further comprise where the at least one componentcomprises a rod having a screw thread located in the at least onecomponent receiving area. The rod may be configured to rotate in the atleast one component receiving area. The at least one component receivingarea may be configured for the stator to longitudinally move up and downalong the rod.

The apparatus may further comprise a motor housing having the statortherein. The stator housing may be connected to the screw thread of therod such that rotation of the rod causes the motor housing tolongitudinally move along the rod.

It should be understood that the foregoing description is onlyillustrative. Various alternatives and modifications can be devised bythose skilled in the art. For example, features recited in the variousdependent claims could be combined with each other in any suitablecombination(s). In addition, features from different embodimentsdescribed above could be selectively combined into a new embodiment.Accordingly, the description is intended to embrace all suchalternatives, modifications and variances which fall within the scope ofthe appended claims.

1-16. (canceled)
 17. An apparatus comprising: a motor comprising: arotor; and a stator, where the rotor is located at least partially in arotor receiving area of the stator, where the stator comprises: a statormember having teeth and at least one component receiving area spacedfrom the rotor receiving area, where the teeth comprise a first set ofthe teeth and a second set of the teeth, where the teeth of the firstset of teeth are longer in a radial direction from the rotor receivingarea than the teeth of the second set of teeth, and where the second setof teeth are located closer to the least one component receiving areathan the first set of teeth, and at least one coil winding on the statormember; and at least one component movably located in the at least onecomponent receiving area.
 18. An apparatus as in claim 17 where the atleast one component comprises a rod having a screw thread located in theat least one component receiving area, where the rod is configured torotate in the at least one component receiving area, and the at leastone component receiving area is configured for the stator tolongitudinally move up and down along the rod.
 19. An apparatus as inclaim 18 where the apparatus further comprises a motor housing havingthe stator therein, where the motor housing is connected to the screwthread of the rod such that rotation of the rod causes the motor housingto longitudinally move along the rod.
 20. A robot drive comprising: theapparatus as claimed in claim 17; a motor housing surrounding the motor;and a drive shaft connected to the rotor, where the drive shaft extendsout of the motor housing, and where the motor housing comprises at leastone component receiving area located in the at least one componentreceiving area of the stator member, where the at least one componentreceiving area of the motor housing has the at least one componentmovably located therein.
 21. A robot comprising: the robot drive as inclaim 20; and a robot arm connected to the drive shaft.
 22. A robotdrive as in claim 20 further comprising a drive housing configured to beconnected to chamber, a connection of the motor housing to the drivehousing configured to allow the motor housing to slide on the drivehousing, and where the at least one component comprises a leadscrewconnected to the motor housing to move the motor housing as theleadscrew is rotated.
 23. A robot drive as in claim 22 furthercomprising a screw motor connected to the drive housing and theleadscrew, where the screw motor is configured to axially rotate theleadscrew.
 24. An apparatus as in claim 17 where a base of each of theteeth is located at a portion of the stator member which forms an outerperimeter wall of the stator member, and where the outer perimeter wallhas a substantial oval shape.
 25. An apparatus as in claim 24 where theat least one component receiving area has an open side at a lateral sideperimeter wall of the stator member.
 26. An apparatus as in claim 17where the at least one component receiving area has a center axis whichis parallel to a center axis of the rotor receiving area.
 27. Anapparatus as in claim 17 where the at least one component receiving areais substantially closed except at top and bottom sides of the statormember.
 28. A method comprising: providing a stator member having teeth,where the stator member comprises a rotor receiving area, where theteeth comprise a first set of the teeth and a second set of the teeth,where the teeth of the first set of teeth are longer in a radialdirection from the rotor receiving area than the teeth of the second setof teeth, where the stator member comprises at least one componentreceiving area spaced from the rotor receiving area, and where thesecond set of teeth are located closer to the least one componentreceiving area than the first set of teeth; locating at least one coilwinding on at least some of the teeth; locating at least one componentin the at least one component receiving area, where the at least onecomponent is configured to be axially rotated in the at least onecomponent receiving area.
 29. A method as in claim 28 where the at leastone component comprises a rod having a screw thread located in the atleast one component receiving area, where the rod is configured torotate in the at least one component receiving area, and the at leastone component receiving area is configured for the stator tolongitudinally move up and down along the rod.
 30. A method as in claim29 further comprising providing a motor housing having the stator membertherein, where the motor housing is connected to the screw thread of therod such that rotation of the rod causes the motor housing tolongitudinally move along the rod.
 31. A method as in claim 28 furthercomprising connecting a drive housing to the motor housing to allow themotor housing to slide on the drive housing, and where the at least onecomponent comprises a leadscrew connected to the motor housing to movethe motor housing as the leadscrew is rotated.
 32. A method as in claim31 further comprising connecting a screw motor to the drive housing andthe leadscrew, where the screw motor is configured to axially rotate theleadscrew.
 33. A method as in claim 28 where the providing of the statormember comprises providing the at least one component receiving areawith an open side at a lateral side perimeter wall of the stator member.34. An apparatus comprising: a motor comprising: a motor housingcomprising a first component receiving area; a rotor; and a statorlocated in the motor housing, where the rotor is located at leastpartially in a rotor receiving area of the stator, where the statorcomprises: a stator member having teeth and a second component receivingarea spaced from the rotor receiving area, where the teeth comprise afirst set of the teeth and a second set of the teeth, where the teeth ofthe first set of teeth are longer in a radial direction from the rotorreceiving area than the teeth of the second set of teeth, and where thesecond set of teeth are located closer to the second component receivingarea than the first set of teeth, and at least one coil winding on thestator member; and a first leadscrew movably located in both the firstcomponent receiving area and the second component receiving area, wherea connection is provided between the motor housing and the firstleadscrew to longitudinally move the motor along the first leadscrew asthe leadscrew is axially rotated.
 35. An apparatus as in claim 34further comprising a drive housing configured to be connected tochamber, and a connection of the motor housing to the drive housingbeing configured to allow the motor housing to slide on the drivehousing.
 36. An apparatus as in claim 35 further comprising a leadscrewmotor connected between the drive housing and the leadscrew, where theleadscrew motor is configured to axially rotate the leadscrew.